Well Toyota quality has also dropped, now that they are going apeshit making things.

The quality started failing right about....when we stopped getting them from Japan I'd say. Old vids on the assembly line seem to show more attention paid on each car from Japanese built cars. I am biased though, so this may not be the case; just something I feel to be true. Perhaps its just Toyotas specifically.

When the VIN doesnt start with JT1 or JT2, then you have something that may not be as quality as the name suggests